ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but I did see a couple of scenes that may have to do with a physics mystery, and, I hear Reid shot & recorded sound for this film (using lavs) himself - which is a great way to go for DIY filmmakers who do not want to or can't (due to budgetary limitations, nature of scene, etc.) use another person for boom mic, etc. - so I was curious about the dialogue sound quality (excellent, from what I saw). Also I like the way the video looks (HD?) - kind of pastelly/soft/nice colors, & Reid did a selective focus thing in the trailer (see it here ) for this film (in post?). Looking forward to seeing the whole 35 mins. after work. So, here it is (& go here for more info. on Here. My Explosion... ):

While some people never bothered to figure out what the extra cost at IMAX branded theaters that don't have massive 70+ feet IMAX screens were getting them, Ansari has & he wants his money back . Catch all the oversized drama & plentiful comments here . Thanks Matt Dentler's blog for the link. (i am definitely sliding away from my "essential blogging only" rule with this post, but will be back on that wagon right after this) Related: VFX engineer on why Star Trek is not IMAX

You heard it here first indie film people - the new Wordpress powered service Blogs.mu can be an awesome tool for creating & promoting low budget movies & in creating that highly prized community feel that we want to attach to our products (communities = long term revenue streams, & plus, more fun). Basically, for free (if you are OK with their ads) or for a very small fee ($1 a blog per month I believe is the low end) you could create/host/edit a network of blogs that deal with either one project, several projects, a community, or whatever (for our use, I can see indie filmmakers or companies creating a Blogs.mu community for each of their films or even getting a blog for each of the key creatives, or, why not, all the people involved in the project). Here are some links to explore: The thing itself - Blogs.mu: http://blogs.mu/ Here's a quick intro to the concept: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/05/12/interview-with-blogsmu-founder-james-farmer/ Here's a c

Get all the fascinating info. on how one filmmaker is working on making a feature length movie using video captured through a still camera - at Filmmaker Slog .

Check out John Ott's A New Auteur Theory for the Age of Social Media . From the article: "Directing is no piece of cake, but in many ways the Hollywood director is less responsible for the existence of a film than his indie cousin. The Hollywood director is a replaceable cog in a big machine. Instead of praising these directors, new criticism should praise filmmakers, the people who can make a film happen out of nothing, the indie filmmaker who, against all laws of respectability and economics – especially economics – with steady work and fast talk, with devotion and determination, with rugged individualism and creative collaboration, is able to distill a story into cinema and place it before the eyes and minds of a receptive audience." Read the rest of the article here . - Sujewa

Several filmmakers are trying to make a feature each - from script to screen - in two weeks. Get all the info here . Sounds like a lot of work, but then again 48 Hour Film Projects are fun (although there you are trying to make a short), and I did once shoot a feature in two days (way back in the 16MM days, it did not turn out well), so, definitely doable. I am sure we'll hear more about those crazy 2 Week filmmakers very soon (the films are supposed to be completed this month). More here . :: The title for this post was inspired by a scene in There's Something About Mary - a fine movie, even though it's Hollywood. Here's the scene: - Sujewa

Check out "What happens to filmmakers who can't market themselves?" post at SpeedCine's blog. Aside from the film related stuff, the YouTube video re: Trent Reznor's marketing & self-distribution work is interesting.

For more on the Straight 8 filmmaking project, go here . Clips from some of their '08 movies:

Yes, the sci-fi sounding (even more exciting & wild than most sci-fi, 'cause it's real!) news that Nitya Venkataraman has been able to re-awaken a 7 million year old dormant gene that may be capable of fighting HIV is awesome, and here's the link & an excerpt: " Nitya Venkataraman from the University of Central Florida has managed to reawaken a guardian gene that has been lying dormant in our genomes for 7 million years. These genes, known as retrocyclins, protect monkeys from HIV-like viruses. The hope is that by rousing them from their slumber, they could do the same for us. The technique is several safety tests and clinical trials away from actual use, but it's promising nonetheless." More at this post . But beyond the excitement of that news I am wondering about that 7 million year number: we've got genes in us that are 7 million years old!!!???? Freak-y. What exactly were we 7 million years ago? I don't think we were even humans - so

how to read this blog post: 1. play the embedded video, it'll provide music while you read 2. read the blog post the video: the blog post: figured out the rest of the story (selected the stories i wanted to use out of several, & the structure of the entire movie) for Brooklyn Fantastic while traveling from New York City to Maryland early this morning on a bus (left NYC around 11 PM & got to DC at 3 AM). being in transit has helped me write (figured out the plot for Wild Diner while on a ride on bus in Rockville, MD, wrote Fresh Coffee while on an amtrak train from MD to Chicago), also, writing late at night, when everyone else is sleeping & making dreams helps me finish scripts - probably because writing stories for movies is kind of like a waking dream activity, also because a lot of dreams are "in the air" at night. so here's what i can say now about the stories & structure of Brooklyn Fantastic: Story 1 - About a couple who lives in Brooklyn Stor

Another Jon Moritsugu feature is available in its entirety from YouTube. Check out Fame Whore here . From the YouTube page : " "FAME WHORE cuts between three interwoven stories examining our culture's lust for that elusive state when everybody knows your name. The triptych includes an All-American tennis star hounded by rumors that he's gay, a trust fund brat on a demonic quest for celebrity and an idealized innocent so isolated he's created a six-foot Saint Bernard as an imaginary friend." - FILMMAKER"

Check out Jon Moritsugu's Hi-8 feature Scumrock at YouTube . Film features Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio. Here's the official description of the movie from the YouTube page : "Winner of "Best Feature" Award at both the New York and the Chicago Underground Film Festivals, Scumrock is director Jon Moritsugu's (Mod F*** Explosion, Fame Whore) sixth feature. A sprawling epic shot on analog Hi8 video, Scumrock has screened around the world to critical and popular acclaim."

Shadow And Act blog points to an interesting article on an old subject - job hunting challenges faced by female and minority talent in Hollywood, read the post & follow links here .

For those of us who are into this subject, a new addition to the conversation at Chuck Tryon's blog . Here's a paragraph that I like (for obvious reasons): "First, it’s worth noting that these debates have been evolving for several years, and in fact two recent documentaries, Sujewa Ekanayake’s Indie Film Bloggers Road Trip (full disclosure: I appear in Sujewa’s film) and Gerald Peary’s For the Love of Movies have sought, to varying degrees, to engage with these changes. In print, this ongoing debate surfaces every few months, reminding us that the traditional definitions of film criticism, addressed in this post by David Bordwell (note: in my response , I attempt a brief taxonomy of some of the possible modes of blog-based criticism), are in the process of revision, especially when many film bloggers are themselves filmmakers and when the production of information is increasing exponentially. Here, Clive Davies-Frayne, as part of Alejandro’s roundtable, offers one solu

At Museum of the Moving Image's site . Jarmusch talks about his previous movies, the currently in release Limits of Control, and other things interesting & amusing. Thanks to The Daily for the link.